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Fixing a concrete date to withdraw from Afghanistan is wrong-headed. An exit strategy should be coordinated within NATO and has to be linked to clear criteria. These include the training of security forces and the creation of stable governance structures, as well as strengthened regional cooperation and development coordination.

Germany's rationale for the deployment of Bundeswehr troops to Afghanistan has changed significantly since the Bundestag's initial mandate in 2001: from the "solidarity with allies and the fight against terror" (former Chancellor Gerhard Schr�der), to the "spreading of human rights, rule of law and democracy" (former Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer), to the "defense of German security interests in the Hindu Kush" (former Defense...